Resilient valve lifters for engines



April. 21, 1959 A. DIERKSEN v 2,882,877

RESILIENT VALVE LIFTERS FOR ENGINES Filed July so. 1958 if INVENTOR fiflomzih'w ATTORNEYS United States Patent O RESILIENT VALVE LIFTERS FOR ENGINES Adolph Dierksen, Enid, Okla.

Application July 30, 1958, Serial No. 751,990

Claims. (Cl. 123-90) The present invention relates to resilient valve lifters for engines and particularly to internal combustion engines.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a resilient valve lifter for cushioning the shock of the push rod when operating the rocker arm.

Another object of the invention is to provide a resilient valve lifter having the resilient means under tension so as to normally bias the push rod oppositely toward the cam shaft at one end and toward the rocker arm at the other end.

A further object of the invention is to provide a resilient connection for push rods which is detachably secured to the push rod and can be replaced when worn or broken.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a resilient valve lifter having a flat spring supporting the rocker arm post from the upper end of the push rod.

Another object of the invention is to provide a resilient valve lifter of the class described above which is inexpensive to manufacture, simple to install and which eliminates the shock noises created by engagement of the cam shaft with the push rod and engagement of the push rod with the rocker arm.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the following specification when considered in light of the attached drawings in which:

Figure 1 is an end elevation of the invention shown attached to a motor vehicle engine partially broken away and in section for convenience of illustration;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the resilient valve lifter with the push rod and rocker arm post broken away for convenience of illustration;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of the invention with the parts in normal position at rest; and

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, illustrating the relationship of the parts when the push rod is being lifted by the cam shaft.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures, the reference numeral indicates generally a resilient valve lifter constructed in accordance with the invention.

The resilient valve lifter 10 is used in conjunction with an internal combustion engine 11 of the overhead valve type having a block 12, a head 13 secured thereto, a rocker arm cover 14 positioned in engagement with the head and secured thereto by bolts 15. The block 12 has a cam shaft 16 extending longitudinally thereof for engagement with an upright push rod 17. A valve 18 is mounted in the head 13 for operation by a rocker arm 19 pivotally mounted on a rocker arm standard 20.

The construction of the engine 11 is conventional and with the exception of the resilient valve lifter 10 forms no part of the present invention.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, the rocker arm 19 has at the end thereof opposite the valve 18 a depending 2,882,877 Patented Apr. 21, 1959 post 21 threaded therethrough and secured in adjusted position by a lock nut 22. The rocker arm post21 has a ball 23 formed on its lower end for reasons to be assigned.

The push rod 17 has the upper end portion thereof externally threaded at 24 and a lock nut 25 is threaded thereon.

The resilient valve lifter 10 includes a body 26 provided with a threaded bore 27 in its lower end for threaded engagement with the upper threaded end 24 of the push rod 17. The body 26 has a pair of spaced apart generally parallel upstanding arms 28, 29 integrally formed thereon, as is clearly shown in Figures 2 and 3. The lock nut 25 serves to lock the body 26 to the push rod 17.

A flat spring 30 has a generally U-shaped form which includes a pair of spaced apart generally parallelly related arms 31, 32 integrally connected at their lower ends by semi-cylindrical bight 33. The arms 31, 32 are respectively provided with outwardly reverted, arcuate upper end portions 34, 35 which are engaged over and welded to the upper ends of the arms 28, 29. The arms 31, 32 are provided with inwardly bowed portions 36, 37 respectively, as can be best seen in Figure 3.

A block 38 is seated in the bight 33 of the spring 30 and is provided with a semi-spherical socket 39 in which the ball 23 is seated, as seen in Figures 2 through 4.

The spring 30 supports the rocker post 21, suspending it from the upper ends of the arms 28, 29 so that upward movement of the push rod 17 is transmitted to the rocker arm 19 without a solid engagement between the post 21 and the push rod 17. As the push rod 17 raises the body 26, the inwardly bowed portions 36, 37 of the spring 30 tend to straighten, as illustrated in Figure 4, lowering the bight 33 thereof toward the push rod 17. As the inwardly bowed portions 36, 37 approach the limit of their movement toward a completely straight position, the resistance of the spring 30 increases so that the movement of the push rod 17 is transmitted to the post 21 in a gradual rather than an abrupt manner.

The spring 30 by resiliently connecting the post 21 and the push rod 17 completely eliminates the slack normally required between the rocker arm 19 and the cam shaft 16 and also eliminates the noise usually created when the prior art structures have the slack taken up therein.

While there has been herein illustrated a specific embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that numerous structural modifications and adaptations within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to in adapting the invention for use with engines of different designs.

What is claimed is:

1. A resilient valve lifter comprising a push rod, a rocker arm post axially aligned with said push rod and spaced therefrom, a body mounted on the upper end of said push rod and having portions thereof extending above the lower end of said rocker arm post, and a spring having its opposite ends secured to said portions of said body with the central portion thereof depending therefrom and engaging beneath said rocker arm post to resiliently support said post.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said body is detachably secured to the upper end of said push rod and the portions of said body extending above the lower end of said rocker arm post comprise a pair of integral spaced apart generally parallel upright arms.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said spring is of generally U-shaped form having a pair of inwardly bowed spaced apart generally parallel arms with said bowed arms resiliently suporting said rocker arm post.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3 wherein said rocker arm post is provided with a ball integrally formed on its lower end and said spring has a socketed seat secured thereto at the lower ends of said arms for supporting said ball.

5. A device as claimed in claim 4 wherein said seat comprises a block secured 1'0 said spring at the lower ends of said arms with the upper face of said block provided with 'a spherical recess in which said ball engages.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

